D50 Tacoma vs. 1973

[valleyguy]

I played a new Tacoma-built D50 this weekend at a guitar store and fell in love. There is a 1973 D50 for sale on Craigslist for $400 less that I'm going to go look at very soon.

Did the D50 in 1973 have the red spruce top, or was it Sitka?

How will these two guitars compare and what should I look for and worry about in a 35 year-old D50?

 

[chazmo]

I played a new Tacoma-built D50 this weekend at a guitar store and fell in love. There is a 1973 D50 for sale on Craigslist for $400 less that I'm going to go look at very soon.

Did the D50 in 1973 have the red spruce top, or was it Sitka?

How will these two guitars compare and what should I look for and worry about in a 35 year-old D50?

A few of us feel that the D50 has been Tacoma's best-sounding Guild dread. Can't go wrong there (IMO).

A '73??? Look very closely at the neck and see that it's playable. It'll likely be due for a neck reset if it hasn't had one already. That's a pretty early Westerly model. Could be a transitional year with the heavy neck (padauk, I think -- not sure if they used it on the D50)... So, that could be a factor.

 

[GardMan]

I played a new Tacoma-built D50 this weekend at a guitar store and fell in love. There is a 1973 D50 for sale on Craigslist for $400 less that I'm going to go look at very soon.

Did the D50 in 1973 have the red spruce top, or was it Sitka?

How will these two guitars compare and what should I look for and worry about in a 35 year-old D50?

I would guess that the '73 top was sitka. Don't know that any other species of spruce was used at the Westerly factory. Check the action, neck, and saddle height of the '73... that should tell you if it is in need of a neck set anytime soon. Check to see if the bridge is lifting along the back... a little space is OK... don't be surprised if you can slip a thin sheet of paper 1/8" under the bridge in places. That wouldn't be anything to worry about. More than that, and it might need some gluing. Check the frets and fret board... are you going to need a refret soon (deep grooves under the strings in low frets)? Are there deep divots from fingernails in the fretboard (don't really affect playing, but unsightly). OF course, look for splits, cracks, other damage.

My guess is that either would sound great. Good luck in your decision!
Dave

 

[playsvintageguilds]

I have a '73 D50. Only repair was a few months ago,re-glued the bridge as it was lifting up a bit. Still plays and sounds great. Pretty certain the top is Sitka.Click on the myspace url for a look. :roll: Happy New Year gang!

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

I have a '73 D50. Only repair was a few months ago,re-glued the bridge as it was lifting up a bit. Still plays and sounds great. Pretty certain the top is Sitka.Click on the myspace url for a look. :roll: Happy New Year gang!

very interesting seeing in your list that you have a 1973 and a 1981 D50..
I'd be interested to know how different are the necks and fretboards of those D50s....which one has the chunkier meatier neck and wider fretboard?
Are they the same weight ,are the tops significantly different? And what about the overall volume of the instruments??
I own a 1987 D50 ,pretty lovely, but like all those made in that period it has a slim neck and a small fretboard, I have long fingers and though I love this guitar it's the most hard and fatiguing Guild to play for me,compared to the other Guilds I own with different necks that are a breeze to play . I'm considering looking for a 70s or early 80s D50 but ,being forced to buy something on the internet without playing it before, I'd like to be sure the neck is really bigger and meatier than the 1987 models...

 

[markus]

My Approach would be: Try to negotiate the Craiglist D50 down to 300 and buy both …
Markus

 

[sitka_spruce]

I would guess that the '73 top was sitka. Don't know that any other species of spruce was used at the Westerly factory.

If I got it right at Westerly they used Engelmann for the D25 and D35 and similar instruments, and sitka for the D40 and D50 and similar. Therefore a D35 is not a no-frills D40, it's a flat backed D25.

 

[valleyguy]

My Approach would be: Try to negotiate the Craiglist D50 down to 300 and buy both …
Markus

Ah, if only I could get the wife to agree to that! Of course getting the seller to go down to $300 for a '73 D50 would be a steal.

I play the guitar tonight, I will report on it tomorrow (I'm in Los Angeles).

BTW, i sold my D4 last night to someone who owned a D25 years ago. This will help finance my move up to the D50. He came to the house played it for 15 minutes (I've never heard it sound so good), fell in love and bought it on the spot. He'd been looking to replace his old D25 and this was it, same sound he said. Apparently the D25 is a D4 with a dark finish, but otherwise identical.

 

[valleyguy]

I have a '73 D50. Only repair was a few months ago,re-glued the bridge as it was lifting up a bit. Still plays and sounds great. Pretty certain the top is Sitka.Click on the myspace url for a look. :roll: Happy New Year gang!

very interesting seeing in your list that you have a 1973 and a 1981 D50..
I'd be interested to know how different are the necks and fretboards of those D50s....which one has the chunkier meatier neck and wider fretboard?

I own a 1987 D50 ,pretty lovely, but like all those made in that period it has a slim neck and a small fretboard, I have long fingers and though I love this guitar it's the most hard and fatiguing Guild to play for me,compared to the other Guilds I own with different necks that are a breeze to play . I'm considering looking for a 70s or early 80s D50 but ,being forced to buy something on the internet without playing it before, I'd like to be sure the neck is really bigger and meatier than the 1987 models...

Interesting point on the necks. The Tacoma D50 (and D55) I played have pretty beefy (thick) necks. I didn't play it long enough to see if it is fatiguing to play. Do you find the slimmer neck harder to play and prefer the thicker neck? Seems counterintuitive.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Oh yes, it looks strange ,but I have medium-big hands with long fingers and on an acoustic guitar I prefer a big profiled neck, something beafy and a wide fretboard.
I appreciate slim necks sometimes on electric guitars,but on acoustics my hands get very tired and feel the strain of an innatural position...
I played a Tacoma DV6 and a D40 last summer and their necks were very comfortable , I guess Tacoma built Guilds have the right necks for me, but I'd like to find an OLD D50 if I ever replace my own D50. My 1982 D25 for instance has got a nice big neck and wider freatboard than the D50
What I find perfect is a V shaped neck like on vintage Martins, or even a C shaped neck. The big chunky neck of my Guild Blues 90 is very comfortable to me as well.
I'm still wondering what kind of neck profile a 1979-1980 D50 might have....

 

[GardMan]

If I got it right at Westerly they used Engelmann for the D25 and D35 and similar instruments, and sitka for the D40 and D50 and similar. Therefore a D35 is not a no-frills D40, it's a flat backed D25.

Didn't know that... the top on my '72 D-35 has cross-rays and some silking... not as much as my "higher end" dreads, but some. Doesn't look that dis-similar from my G-37 top. I always thought that was as indicator that it was sitka (and I think one of the luthiers who worked on it also thought it was sitka). No matter to me... still love it!
Dave

 

[playsvintageguilds]

Andy wrote,"very interesting seeing in your list that you have a 1973 and a 1981 D50..
I'd be interested to know how different are the necks and fretboards of those D50s....which one has the chunkier meatier neck and wider fretboard?"

My '73 D50 seems significantly lighter weight than my '81 D50.
The neck and fretboard on the '73 also are smaller,thinner,narrower (however one would describe it) than the '81.
I have fresh medium gauge Cleartones on both. The sound on them is plenty loud,however,the '81 is noticeably boomier.
I have to work a little bit harder playing the '81 (the action is slightly higher) whereas the '73 seems almost effortless to play.
I would be curious to know what is it that makes the two so strikingly different. By the way,I love all three unconditionally. :lol:

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Find out if the '73 has been refinished. A bad refin can dull the sound. And even a good refin lowers the demand, so you can get a good player for about 40% less.

 

[Recky]

Hi,

my '74 D50 has a fairly slim neck, not quite as flat in the palm of your hand as a 1960s Gibson, but very easy playing. Perhaps because of this, she isn't boomy in that low-mids kind of way, but has a warm, pretty focused, almost piano-like chime. She is incredibly loud (louder than my '81 F50!), though, and doesn't break up, no matter how hard you strum her.

I'm intrigued to find out if there was a particular point in time during the Westerly years when then neck dimensions changed.

Cheers,
Recky

 

[sitka_spruce]

If I got it right at Westerly they used Engelmann for the D25 and D35 and similar instruments, and sitka for the D40 and D50 and similar. Therefore a D35 is not a no-frills D40, it's a flat backed D25.

Didn't know that... the top on my '72 D-35 has cross-rays and some silking... not as much as my "higher end" dreads, but some. Doesn't look that dis-similar from my G-37 top. I always thought that was as indicator that it was sitka (and I think one of the luthiers who worked on it also thought it was sitka). No matter to me... still love it!
Dave

Nothing wrong going with Engelmann. Gives the instrument a slightly richer and more compressed response. The top wood may have changed over the years on some models though.

The most certain Engelmann indicator would be the wider grain and the creamier colour of wood.